Intertwined: love, fire and sacrifice

14. Tears into the night

Laius

My Sugar seemed happy and normal again, but only during the day. I knew well that she was only trying to keep the façade, to hide her feelings, to make me feel better. She knew that her presence and having her for myself only were the only things that could placate the madness and death that were always threatening to claim my soul.

She was doing it for me, despite herself.

Her light and the life pulsating in her like fire, are the only things that can fight the claws of death in me, bring peace to my mind and fill the hollow in my soul.

But I could still hear her whimpering at night, and it was becoming too much for me. I couldn’t turn around and sleep, I couldn’t bear to watch my mate suffering. Tonight, the situation was even worse. My Sugar was trembling in her sleep. 

“Elric…. Don’t…. don’t!” Liv muttered between sobs before she turned abruptly to her other side in her sleep.

I held her shivering little body against mine, trying to calm her down, to comfort her. “Sweets, I am here.” I cooed her, as I ran my fingers through her hair.

But it didn’t help as it did in her previous crying nights. Her pain was growing further every single night. Time wasn’t helping her to cope with the distance, with the separation from those 2 as I’ve expected. Time was only worsening her situation.

“Avalon…why?... don’t fade away…. Please stay!” I could feel her tears wetting the arm that I had around her, she was squirming harder.

For the first time, I decided to wake her up during her whimpering. I couldn’t take it anymore and I was sure Liv couldn’t either.

“Sugar, wake up,” I said softly, kissing her temple. “Wake up, Liv.”

She woke up with a start, gasping. “What happened?” she asked looking at me, confusion clouding her gorgeous eyes. But the confusion wasn’t the only thing there. Her gaze was laced with pain. 

“You were crying in your sleep.”

“It was a nightmare.” She muttered, looking away for a moment. She was still trying to hide her suffering from me. I knew she didn’t want to aggravate me, not after she felt the immense hollow inside me through our bond. 

I wrapped her in my arms, pulling her tightly against my chest, and exhaled sharply in frustration. “I know what will make you feel better,” I uttered with a wicked smile.

She looked at my naked chest, at the markings that covered it like a tattoo. Those markings are actually an inscription in the Godly, Olympian, language and care powerful magic on themselves. A legacy.

Sugar ran her fingers through their black sketch. I smiled at her, and in a swift movement, I flipped us over, covering her body with mine, as I laid my lower body between her sexy long legs. I claimed her mouth slowly, but with urge and yearning. I’m sure she could feel my longing, my deep desire, and my love through our bond. She granted me access to her delicious mouth and gave herself to me completely.

 ~ * ~

3rd Person's POV

Avalon was feeling himself getting mad. He started to ask people around about his mate. He had to know about her. To feel her. Have her.

Thus, he went to interrogate Cali, concerning his mate’s whereabouts. He enters her room without knocking, making the young witch who was drawing and cuddling with her Chinchilla jump up startled.

Cali feels the anger and power rolling off of the King, she gulps hard and looks at his face just to down her gaze in the next second. His jaw was clenched, eyes narrowed at her and all his muscles seemed very tense. He looked restless and intimidating.

Her breath was so quick, and her heart was beating in such an insane rhythm that she wasn’t sure if she was having many mini heart attacks in a roll or a massive panic attack. Probably both, she decided. 

“You-your ma-majesty.” She stutters bowing down.

He exhales deeply in response.

What did I do to displease him? I just have to remember how to breathe! I have a Chinchilla baby to look after, I can’t die now. She tries to calm herself down, slowing her breath.

“Calista, do you have any way to communicate with your friend?” He gives the young witch an intense glare and she flinches.

“No, no your ma-majesty. She-she hasn’t been online for more than a week. She said that the internet connection in Hell is ve-very bad. I can’t reach her. I swear I tried.” she replied nervously, lowing her head in submission. She can feel even more power rolling off of her King in waves. Everything in her screamed to submit to him.

“Try harder.” He snaps.

“Y-Yes Your Majesty,” Cali utters. She didn’t know how Liv could deal with such dominant males.

He mumbles something under his breath and leaves Cali without saying anything further.

She breathes relieved, staying in the presence of and being questioned by a very on edge King brought her lots of anxiety.

Avalon was restless, he couldn’t be away from his female any longer. He felt darkness and madness on the edge of reaching him and fill the space in his mind destined to his mate, destined to their bond, which she had closed.

His body also needed her, he couldn’t sleep or think properly. He had to hold her, to hear her voice. To hear her complaining and teasing. He had to be deep inside her warmth. To inhale her inebriant scent and look at her gorgeous eyes.

He has already asked Mel about his mate. She said that Liv called her days ago saying she would stay longer in Hell and that she was fine. Mel also didn’t know much more than that.

He will punish his mate when he gets her back. She will regret leaving him and won’t ever dare to do it again. 

His army was already ready to break through the gates of Hell and bring his woman back, they were only waiting for his command. He was only waiting for a final word from Elric. Avalon was quite sure that the Elf King would end up joining forces with him to invade Hell. To break into Hell’s Gates.

~ * ~

Liv

I was trying to reach for Avalon and Elric through the bonds again, I was doing it every day. Actually, I was doing it every second hour like a very anxious person... but I still faced a closed door, two closed doors. Well, I had it coming. I so deserve it.

“Sugar, let’s go,” Laius said snapping me out of my daydreaming, he took my hand and smiled at me.

My devilicious mate said that as soon as he had a break from a hell load of work, he would fulfil his promise and take me to spend a day at the Elysium Fields, or as they call it in Tartarus, ‘Tedious Fields’. He also told me that he was excited for me to get to know all of our Realm. 

Time has come. So, he portaled us both there. 

I looked at Elysium's sky, as Medeia said, the sky is the same all over Hell, an eternal sunset. But differently than in Tartarus, the land here was fertile and some little baby breath flowers were all around the place. It was a beautiful place, some kind of peaceful and serene paradise.

Besides the extensive nature, with all the ranges of vegetation and geographic scenarios, it had many small villages. We went first through a really vast meadow; all my eyes could see in every direction was the soft green colour of the grass and the colourful wildflowers. It had a nice pastoral atmosphere. I could hear the noise of the water flowing, like a natural lullaby, and smell the sweet aroma of the flowers and the earth.

“It’s a quite beautiful place. It really doesn’t look like Tartarus, even though Tartarus has its own… exotic and rough beauty.” I muttered.

“Hell is a diverse Realm, Sugar. We have it for all tastes.” 

We ran through the meadow and rolled in the hay, I mean, literally. Then we went to one of the small idyllic villages.

“Life here, afterlife life here, is quite vanilla. It’s like a retirement home, boring. Beautiful and boring like a golden fish or the ideal woman of a middle-aged conservative coffee farmer from the Fae Realm, or of the `Stuck up King`.” I laughed a bit; I knew that by sticking up King he was talking about Avalon and his taste in women.

But after my laughter subsided, I felt a pang in my heart. Avalon. 

I hope Laius didn’t notice it, I don’t want to screw up somehow and make his darkness’ issues even worse. 

“That is why is much better to be a bad girl and get the excitement of the true Hell.” He added smacking my butt and winking.

“Don’t worry, I promise to be a very bad girl,” I replied with a coy smile and then bit my bottom lip for good measure, which earned me his delicious smile. Goal achieved!

I knew when and where I should be ‘bad’ for my Master. For him to punish me.

Anyways, the ´true Hell` could be quite entertaining, especially a certain Dungeon room. But I knew that Hell was only good because I had him with me. Fun fact: my hot devil-icious mate makes Hell one of the best places. But it wasn’t my home, the place that I mean to be for good, that I know. Well, Avalon’s castle doesn’t feel like home either. Maybe I haven’t found my home yet. Or maybe once I had a glimpse of it.

This village was picture perfect, it had colourful little half-timbered houses adorned with flowers. The streets were impossibly clean and made of small stones, in some areas there was a beautiful pavement with wave patterns in snow white and navy colours. It resembles what I think a fairy-tale scenario looks like.

It was so perfect that seemed like no one lived there, but it obviously wasn’t the case, as many people were walking across the street. Some of them looked human and some others were apparently mortal supernatural beings that found their end, I saw some omega werewolves and even a couple of Pixies. 

Everyone around seemed quite content, they were smiling and even waving to us. I smiled back at them, but after lingering their eyes a bit at us, their smiles faded and they looked distressed, actually terrified. When I turned to Laius, I saw that he had a scowl and his fangs were bared.

I shook my head at him and slapped his arm slightly, “Be nice to our people!” I scolded.

“Sugar, I’m only helping them, bringing some emotion to their boring lives.” He replied with a playful smirk.

I sighed. “I am sure they are doing well without the fright.”

“Okay, Sugar. Just because you are asking. But if you don’t let me have fun here, you will need to compensate by entertaining me later.”

“Deal.” I agreed with a knowing smile. Well, this way everybody wins.

~ * ~

3rd Person's POV

In the next couple of nights, Laius woke his whimpering mate up and made love to her.

But it didn’t work that night.  After they had s*x, Liv went back to sleep and started to whine again, thrashing her body desperately and sobbing her other mate’s names. Laius had to do something to take away or, at least, ease her pain.

It broke his tiny heart to see his mate like this, a heart that only beated and existed for her, literally. Before she cameintoo his life, he couldn’t feel anything. The closest thing that he had of a feeling was the sense of cynicism and the hollow emptiness that filled his soul. Liv brought feelings to his life. The very first time he heard his own heartbeat, was when he caught her scent in the Ball Hall.

He left his mate sleeping and went to see Medeia, he had to find a solution for Liv’s issue immediately. Laius woke his servant up and she didn’t complain. She knew better, you should never complain when your boss is the Devil, wearing Prada or not.

~ * ~

Medeia

The King came into my room and I woke up with a start. I composed myself and went to the hall to talk to him. 

“You need to give me something to relieve her pain.” Laius urged in a commanding tone. But I could see the desperation in his eyes, even in his undertone. I’ve met many desperate men in my times as a living soul. They all have an edginess in their eyes, as if something was about to break.

As long as is not my neck, I’m fine with it.

“The only thing that could help would be a compelling spell, the Ennui Potion. She would be like a doll… but as you told me you don…” I tried to reply, but Laius waved me off with a powerful growl. “However, not even it would work for more than a few days. Not even dark or Hell magic can fight or wave the mate bond, the Goddess made sure of it.” I added bitterly.

‘The Goddess, she was quite good in abandoning, that was her speciality! If she abandoned the ones, she said she loved, why she wouldn’t do it with a mere disciple like me?!’

“Are you saying that there is no way, Sorceress?... someone else, more capable and skilled would know a way.” Laius’ deep voice brought me out of my sour memories’ reverie.

“No, there is no way in this Realm, neither in any other. You couldn’t find a more capable Spellbinder to do such a deed.” I said firmly but keeping my head low.

I didn’t want to upset him even further. I knew that he was already beyond enraged, edgy. But I also knew that as soon as he sees his female, he will get immediately calmer and it’ll avoid a great barbecue of Hell residents. 

He flashed me a murderous and red-glowing glare.

“I am sorry, my King. But those are the facts.” I uttered bowing down slightly.

He ignored what I said and ordered, “Find someone who can help her, you have a day to do it.”

I held back a sigh of frustration and nodded to the King. I will start my useless search.

My King doesn’t know about it, but he should be very thankful to me.

Livia wouldn’t have spent these many days in Hell without reaching for her 2 other mates, without getting very worried about them, if it wasn’t for me! If I haven’t added droplets of the Ennui Potion and some calming herbs to her tea. If I wouldn’t have compelled her to not think about them, to not get concerned.

But there is only so much I could do. Their mate bonds are strong and it’s hard to compel such a headstrong girl. Not even the full dose of the Ennui Potion could make her don’t have mate withdrawal symptoms for more than a couple of days.

To make everything worse than stubborn teenager doesn’t want to take more of the blasted tea. She wants coffee! The Potion can’t blend with the taste of coffee, she would notice it. I can’t take such a risk. Fortunately, there is still some Ennui Potion in her system, and it will take some time for its effects to fade away completely.

I’ve to manage to give Livia more of it. She would be shocked, devastated if the Ennui Potion’s effect dies down completely.

I wonder how Laius didn’t think that it was odd, weird, that his female spent so many days here without growing very concerned about her 2 other males. It’s easy to play powerful men with a big ego, he actually believed that his mate didn’t go hysterical and lost her mind about her other 2 kings because he was a great lover in the dungeon and distracted her. Because he was enough for her somehow. It’s laughable.

He can’t ever know that I drugged his precious female, he would send me straight to the Hellfire pools, even though I just did what was necessary. What he didn’t have the balls to do himself. Hell, and King Laius need our Queen and all the changes that her presence here is promoting. I just made sure that she would stay. 

--> A/N

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